UTAH: GUARDS: MO WILLIAMS will get a crack at running the point in Utah. He's more of a combo guard, but he'll do fine in an offense that revolves around the bigs . . . RANDY FOYE is a gunning combo guard who will step in as Utah's sixth man . . . ALEC BURKS started to come on late last year, making Raja Bell expendable. He'll come off the bench, but if he can start knocking down perimeter shots, he's in for a much bigger role . . . Yeah, that's right, EARL WATSON and JAMAAL TINSLEY are both still around. And they're both riding pine in Salt Lake . . . KEVIN MURPHY is a cagey scorer from tiny Tennessee Tech (no word on his Golden Tee skills). FORWARDS: PAUL MILLSAP was Utah's best all-around player last season and will be playing for a new contract. He should be able to keep his minutes despite Utah's young bigs behind him . . . GORDON HAYWARD will probably slide to the two. He has a chance for a breakout year after a strong finish to 2011-12 . . . MARVIN WILLIAMS gets a fresh start in Utah after a disappointing run in Atlanta. He figures to have a similar complementary role with the Jazz . . . DERRICK FAVORS is a long-term solution in the frontcourt. His offensive game is coming on, and he's already a far better defender than Al Jefferson . . . Slam dunk champion JEREMY EVANS and DeMARRE CARROLL will both provide energy off the bench. CENTERS: Like Millsap, AL JEFFERSON will hit free agency after the season. He's an incredibly limited player, a great scorer in the low post, but incapable of any other contributions and a huge liability on defense . . . ENES KANTER is still a few years away from a starting job. He has some rough edges to his game, but really had no problem adjusting to the physicality of the NBA.

MINNESOTA: GUARDS: RICKY RUBIO could be back by late December, but even he's not confident his knee will be 100 percent. His minutes might have to be scaled back . . . LUKE RIDNOUR will handle the offense with Rubio hampered. The vet is a steady hand in coach Rick Adelman's Euro-style offense . . . They're counting on BRANDON ROY to reclaim his old form after a radical knee procedure. He may never be 100 percent, but he should at least give them sixth-man minutes . . . CHASE BUDINGER is a three-point marksman who moves well off the ball, a perfect fit in Adelman's system . . . J.J. BAREA will take some of the point guard burden as well. He's a top sixth man . . . ALEXEY SHVED can help as a combo guard, though he might have trouble breaking into this rotation . . . MALCOLM LEE is a defensive stopper who won't be asked to shoot very often. FORWARDS: Despite being limited athletically, KEVIN LOVE is an elite rebounder and shooter for a big. He'll continue to be the focal point of this offense once he returns from a broken hand in early December . . . ANDREI KIRILENKO returns to the States after a dominating Euroleague stint. He's a big upgrade at the three and should be comfortable in Adelman's system . . . DERRICK WILLIAMS will continue his attempted transition to the three. As last year proved, he's a long, long ways away. He might have to play himself into a rotation spot . . . DANTE CUNNINGHAM is a nice, efficient big to bring off the bench . . . Since they need shooting on the wings, rookie ROBBIE HUMMEL has a chance to crack the rotation. CENTERS: NIKOLA PEKOVIC is a beast, the best offensive rebounder in the NBA. His total rebounding numbers get hurt playing alongside Kevin Love, but Pekovic will continue to bully his way to put-backs . . . GREG STIEMSMA is going to come in and do some pushing and shoving (and occasional shot-blocking) for 12-to-15 MPG.

The road hasn't been kind to the Utah Jazz all season, but their struggles defensively have made it especially unfriendly lately.

Perhaps the Jazz can carry over the momentum from an impressive home win in their last game.

Utah will try to avoid its fourth straight road loss on Wednesday night when it visits the injury-plagued Minnesota Timberwolves, who managed to pick up an elusive victory in their last game.

The Jazz (29-24) stopped a two-game skid and won for the 11th time in 13 home games with a 109-94 victory on Tuesday over an Oklahoma City team that had won four straight by 20 or more points.

"I think that was the biggest game of the year for us, especially coming off two losses," guard Earl Watson said.

Utah, however, hasn't matched that success on the road. The Jazz have lost 18 of 27 away from Salt Lake City, including three in a row after a 120-109 defeat at Sacramento on Saturday.

After holding the Thunder - the NBA's top-scoring team - 12.4 points below their season average on Tuesday, Utah has given up just 88.2 points per game in its last five at home.

It's been a much different story away from home. They've allowed 109.0 points per game and 27-of-58 shooting (46.6 percent) from 3-point range during their road losing streak.

They'll try to tighten things up against a Minnesota team that had shot 5 for 29 from beyond the arc in its previous two contests before hitting 8 of 14 in a 100-92 win at Cleveland on Monday.

The Timberwolves (19-30) still have three starters out due to injury, and won for only the fourth time in 20 games since star forward Kevin Love went down with a broken right hand.

They've also lost six of seven at home, with three of the defeats by six or fewer points.

"It's been a long month for us," said guard Luke Ridnour, who had a team-high 21 points on Monday. "It's always tough. We're competitors. You want to win games. Losing, as much as you don't want to say it, takes a toll on you."

Ridnour has stepped up recently, averaging 19.3 points on 59.5 percent shooting in his last three games.

After a slow start in his return from a torn ACL, Ricky Rubio is starting to return to form with 16.0 points and 8.3 assists per game in his last three.

The Timberwolves shot 52.0 percent from the field against the Cavaliers, and hope to continue that efficiency on Wednesday after shooting a season-low 34.5 percent in a 106-84 loss at Utah on Jan. 2.

Utah big men Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Marvin Williams and Enes Kanter combined for 52 points, and the Jazz outscored the Timberwolves 56-36 in the paint in the first meeting.

Jefferson and Millsap bounced back with a combined 41 points and 17 rebounds on Tuesday after totaling 22 and 11, respectively, against the Kings.

Millsap had averaged 23.5 points and 9.8 rebounds in his previous six games against Minnesota before finishing with 14 points and no rebounds in last month's meeting.

While the Jazz have won eight of 10 in the series, they've lost the last two in Minnesota.